Heroes of Shankly's first league title

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the day Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 5-0 at Anfield to claim their first title under Bill Shankly - and here, we remember the heroes of the great man's 1963-64 team…

Ian Callaghan (42 appearances)No-one has played more games for Liverpool than Cally, who racked up 47 of his grand total of 857 during the 1963-64 campaign. There can be no better role model for aspiring footballers than a midfielder who represented everything that's good about the game. A true gentleman in every sense of the word, the Toxteth boy was the only player to survive Liverpool's fairytale journey from life as a mediocre Second Division outfit to the lofty summit of European football.

Gordon Milne (42 appearances)Milne's play was uncomplicated and others prospered around his unselfish play. He made the transition from the Second Division to the First without any problems and he was a vital part on the right side of Shankly's midfield. Milne only missed a handful of league fixtures in three seasons as Liverpool won the Second Division championship in 1962, established themselves in the First Division and then won the league championship itself in 1964.

Peter Thompson (42 appearances)Thompson was the great schoolboy star of his day - and was pursued by 17 clubs when the time came to leave school. He was a legendary winger at Liverpool who could beat full-backs for fun and cause absolute havoc to any defender. Thompson became a regular First Division player at 17 for Preston, making his debut against Arsenal on August 30, 1960. He played all 42 league games as Shankly's side swept to the title in 1964.

Roger Hunt (41 appearances)The only player to have an honorary knighthood bestowed upon him by the Kop, Hunt is one of the most popular figures ever to pull on the red shirt. Quite why he wasn't made a 'Sir' by the Queen is still hard to fathom, especially as he was the only Red in the starting line-up when England won the World Cup in 1966. He was the top scorer when Liverpool won the title in 1963-64 and again two seasons later. Plus, he opened the scoring when the Reds finally ended their extensive wait for an FA Cup in 1965.

Tommy Lawrence (40 appearances)Lawrence was a stocky built Scotsman who was Bill Shankly's first-choice goalkeeper. Lawrence had been at Anfield for five years when he got his opportunity in Liverpool's first season in the top flight after Jim Furnell got injured 13 games into the season. Tommy grabbed his chance with both hands and typically didn't let go of the shirt for the next eight years.

Ian St John (40 appearances)The Scot was a key figure in the transformation of Liverpool Football Club from a mediocre Second Division outfit to one of the most feared sides in Europe. It took a club record £37,500 to prise him from hometown team Motherwell in May 1961. Legend has it that when Bill Shankly approached his board for the funds they questioned the wisdom of spending so much on one player, to which Shanks replied: "We can't afford not to buy him!"

Willie Stevenson (38 appearances)Leith-born Stevenson, a slim, elegant left half with an impressive range of passing ability, established himself as a member of the famous Anfield half-back line with Gordon Milne and Ron Yeats. In his first four full seasons with Liverpool he missed only nine league games, playing a key role in the championship wins of 1964 and 1966 and in the team that brought the FA Cup to Anfield in 1965 for the first time.

Ron Yeats (36 appearances)Yeats was the rock around which the legendary Bill Shankly built his first great side. A colossus - that's how Shanks described his latest signing in the summer of 1961 before inviting journalists to take a walk around him. His debut season saw Liverpool win the Second Division championship after eight years in the wilderness and, over the next decade, Yeats would help turn the Reds into one of the most feared sides in Europe.

Ronnie Moran (35 appearances)Bugsy Moran is quite simply a Liverpool institution. A gifted left-back, he joined the club in 1952. Shankly's arrival in 1959 coincided with a spell when Ronnie was affected by injuries but he did play in enough fixtures to qualify for a Second Division championship medal in 1962 and only missed seven games when the First Division title was won two years later, for the first time since 1947.

Gerry Byrne (33 appearances)Shankly's arrival in late 1959 changed Gerry's prospects completely, as the new manager seemed to take a liking to the tough-tackling defender. Gerry took over from Moran in the autumn of 1960 and played in the remaining 33 league games of that season. Byrne was to become a regular for the majority of the rest of the decade and was an important part of the settled team that brought so much success to the club in the middle of the 1960s.

Jimmy Melia (24 appearances)Playmaker Jimmy Melia started as a 15-year-old at Liverpool, featuring in the side at 19, and becoming a regular for the next five years. However, two-thirds of the way through the title-winning campaign of 1964, he lost his place to Alf Arrowsmith and was almost immediately transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers. He had, however, played in enough league matches before the transfer to qualify for a league championship medal.

Alf Arrowsmith (20 appearances)Arrowsmith arrived at Anfield as a fresh 17-year-old. A year later, his name was on everybody's lips at Anfield because he couldn't stop scoring for the reserves. Arrowsmith netted no less than 65 goals between 1961-63. His breakthrough into the first team arrived in the latter part of the championship-winning 1963-64 season, when he scored 18 goals in 23 games.

Phil Ferns (18 appearances)A rugged defender whose versatility served Bill Shankly well, Ferns was born in Liverpool and signed professional forms for his local club in September 1957. When the club won the league championship for the sixth time in 1964, Phil played in enough games to qualify for a winners' medal.

What fantastic men these were. I remember them all growing up in my early teens. Does anyone remember who played right back? Was it Jimmy Melia as Gerry kept him out of the left back position? This period was a few years before Chris Lawler arrived and made the position his own. Does anyone remember Ray Lambert who played there in the fifties? YNWA96